MCU Flops: The Marvel Movies That LOST Money!

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During the opening weekend of May 2025, the movie “Thunderbolts” earned $74 million, a lower domestic box office start for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), yet still a decent beginning. If positive buzz can sustain it through upcoming weekends and encourage people to keep watching, it could potentially extend its run and bring in more money for Disney and Marvel Studios. However, such an outcome is quite different from the 2010s when MCU projects were essentially guaranteed profits. The trust of audiences in the Marvel brand, combined with an intriguing ongoing storyline about the Infinity Stones, had audiences flocking to cinemas repeatedly.

As a devoted fan, it’s no secret that Marvel Studios has been a powerhouse at the box office, churning out hit after hit. However, it’s worth noting that not every movie they’ve produced has turned a profit. Using a common benchmark that a film needs to earn 2.5 times its budget during its global theater run to be considered profitable, there are indeed five Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) titles that didn’t quite meet this mark in their theatrical phase – an anomaly in the otherwise impressive box office performance of the MCU. These films, surprisingly, couldn’t keep up with the studio’s usual financial success.

1) The Incredible Hulk

In the second film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, titled “The Incredible Hulk”, was released merely six weeks after “Iron Man”. This movie aimed to provide a more well-received Hulk story compared to Ang Lee’s 2003 portrayal, which was divisive. With a production budget of $137.5 million, “The Incredible Hulk” managed to earn only $265.57 million worldwide. Despite this earning being slightly higher than the previous Hulk movie’s global revenue of $245.28 million, it wasn’t enough to turn a profit in its theatrical run. Given that 2007’s “Ghost Rider” doubled its production cost worldwide, Marvel Studios likely had greater expectations for this high-profile release in June 2008.

2) Eternals

Initial expectations for the movie “Eternals” were incredibly high leading up to its November 2021 release, with some predicting it could debut domestically with over $100 million – a feat not achieved by any movie since March 2020. However, mixed reviews and a more somber tone resulted in “Eternals” underperforming at the box office, failing to meet expectations despite earning a substantial $402.1 million worldwide on a costly budget of $236.2 million. Consequently, no plans for a sequel, “Eternals 2,” have been announced.

3) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Quantumania hinted at the beginning of a new era within the Marvel Cinematic Universe by introducing Kang the Conqueror. However, Quantumania turned out to be one of the most criticized and overly expensive films in this franchise, with a production cost of $388.4 million. Even if it had been as successful as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Captain America: Civil War, it still wouldn’t have made a profit given its poor performance. It’s not surprising that Quantumania didn’t turn a profit due to its low box office returns.

4) The Marvels

It’s evident from the latest The Marvels film that connecting the movie and TV realms within the MCU might be overly challenging for viewers. The sequel to Captain Marvel picked up on significant storylines from both Ms. Marvel and WandaVision, but unfortunately, this complex narrative didn’t resonate with a broad audience. With a production budget of $307.3 million, the film only grossed $206.1 million globally and fell short of earning over $100 million domestically. Ultimately, it was projected that Disney and Marvel Studios suffered a substantial loss of approximately $237.3 million from this production. It seems that harder-to-understand films tend to earn less at the box office – quite an interesting observation!

5) Captain America: Brave New World

According to sources, the movie “Captain America: Brave New World” required a global earnings of at least $425 million to cover its production costs. Unfortunately, it only managed to gross $415 million worldwide, resulting in a loss for Marvel Studios despite its slightly better overall performance compared to “Eternals” and “The Marvels”. This film, like other MCU projects that lean heavily on complex mythology, underperformed significantly against the global box office totals of the previous two Captain America standalone films. Additionally, much like “Quantumania” and “The Marvels”, “Brave New World” saw a sharp decline in domestic earnings after its opening weekend, which could suggest that audiences quickly lost interest in the film following its debut. It’s no surprise then that Sam Wilson’s initial solo cinematic outing failed to turn a profit.

Captain America: Brave New World is now available for rental or purchase from digital retailers.

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2025-05-13 06:15